The 56th Chicago International Film Festival illuminates varying gender normsin childhood, adolescence and old agenow through Sunday, Oct. 25 as part of the Festival's "Out-Look" LGBTQ+ programming.
Three feature films from Mexico, France and the United States celebrate the international transgender experience in their premieres at the festival. They include the French film Little Girl, the U.S. movie Mama Gloria and the Mexican feature Things We Dare Not Do.
Mama Gloria is a documentary about Chicago Black transgender icon Gloria Allen, now in her 70s, who blazed a trail for trans people like few others before her. Emerging from Chicago's South Side drag ball culture in the 1960s, Allen overcame traumatic violence to become a proud leader in her community. Most famously, she pioneered a charm school for young transgender people that served as inspiration for Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins' hit play Charm.
See ChicagoFilmFestival.com .